Cooling system for a vehicle solar panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9481241-B2
Application number	US-201414501662-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2014
Priority date	Sep 30, 2014
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

A vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes an engine, a vehicle body panel, a photovoltaic unit attached to the vehicle body panel, and a cooling arrangement. The cooling arrangement includes a heat exchanger and a first cooling loop configured to accept heat from the engine and reject heat through the heat exchanger. The cooling arrangement also includes a second cooling loop configured to accept heat from the photovoltaic unit and reject heat through the heat exchanger.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
an engine;
a vehicle body panel;
a photovoltaic unit on the vehicle body panel; and
a cooling arrangement including a heat exchanger, a first cooling loop accepting heat from the engine and rejecting heat through the heat exchanger when a coolant flows therethrough, and a second cooling loop accepting heat from the photovoltaic unit and rejecting heat through the heat exchanger when the coolant flows therethrough.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the cooling arrangement includes a cold plate that is in contact with the photovoltaic unit and the second cooling loop and wherein the cold plate transfers heat from the photovoltaic unit to the coolant when the coolant is flowing through the cooling loops.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the cold plate includes fluid channels that are integrated into the second cooling loop.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is a radiator.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a controller is programmed to adjust the valves of a valving arrangement in the cooling loops between opened and closed positions.

6. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the valving arrangement in the cooling loops isolates the second cooling loop from the first cooling loop when the valves are adjusted to a specified arrangement of opened and closed positions.

7. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the valving arrangement bypasses a thermostat in the first cooling loop when the valves are adjusted to a specified arrangement of opened and closed positions.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein an electric pump cycles a coolant through the cooling loops.

9. A system for cooling a photovoltaic unit attached to a vehicle comprising:
an engine cooling loop having a first heat exchanger; and
a secondary cooling loop, in fluid communication with the engine cooling loop, having a second heat exchanger, wherein the second heat exchanger transfers heat from the photovoltaic unit to a coolant flowing through the secondary cooling loop, the heat then being rejected through the first heat exchanger.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second heat exchanger is a cold plate.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein a valving arrangement in the cooling loops isolates the secondary cooling loop from the engine cooling loop when valves in the valving arrangement are adjusted to a specified arrangement of opened and closed positions.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein a valving arrangement bypasses a thermostat in the engine cooling loop when valves in the valving arrangement are adjusted to a specified arrangement of opened and closed positions.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein an electric pump cycles the coolant through the engine cooling loop and the secondary cooling loop.

14. A system for cooling a photovoltaic unit attached to a vehicle comprising:
a first cooling loop having a first heat exchanger that rejects heat from a coolant when the coolant flows therethrough;
a second cooling loop in fluid communication with the first cooling loop and having a second heat exchanger that transfers heat from the photovoltaic unit to the coolant when the coolant flows therethrough; and
a controller programmed to control a pump to cycle the coolant through the first and second cooling loops when the photovoltaic unit requires cooling.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is further programmed to control a first valve located in the second cooling loop and wherein the first valve is switched from a closed position to an open position when the photovoltaic unit requires cooling.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is programmed to control the pump to cycle the coolant through the first and second cooling loops when the temperature of the photovoltaic unit reaches a predetermined threshold.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein a sensor measures the temperature of the photovoltaic unit.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further programmed to control a second valve located in the first cooling loop and wherein the second valve is switched from a first position to a second position in order to bypass a thermostat located in the first cooling loop when the photovoltaic unit requires cooling.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is programmed to control the pump to cycle the coolant through the first and second cooling loops when the temperature of the coolant is below a predetermined threshold.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein a sensor measures the temperature of the coolant.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Jackson Kenneth J

Classifications

• B60K16/00 Primary

  Arrangements in connection with power supply of propulsion units in vehicles from forces of nature, e.g. sun or wind (electric propulsion with power supply from forces of nature, e.g. sun or wind, B60L8/00; wind motors specially adapted for installation on vehicles F03D9/32) · CPC title

• B60K11/02 Primary

  with liquid cooling · CPC title

• B60K2016/003

  solar power driven · CPC title

• Y10S903/904

  Component specially adapted for hev · CPC title

• Y02T10/90

  Energy harvesting concepts as power supply for auxiliaries' energy consumption, e.g. photovoltaic sun-roof · CPC title